Rick Palmore and Rising Star LCLD Alumni Award Winners
Rick Palmore Awards
Named for LCLD’s founder, the Rick Palmore Award is the LCLD Alumni community’s highest honor. Since 2015, the Award has recognized the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of LCLD Alumni whose exemplary contributions have had a substantial and lasting impact on the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders network, and in advancing the mission and goals of LCLD in the communities in which we practice and the legal profession more broadly. This award will be given to up to two Fellows and/or Pathfinder Alums who have been members of the LCLD Alumni community for longer than three years.
About Rick Palmore
Rick Palmore is one of the most influential lawyers of our time and a nationally recognized advocate for diversity in the legal industry whose vision and hard work propelled, among countless other achievements, the founding of LCLD. Today, Rick serves on the Board as the Founding Chair Emeritus. He continues to inspire his fellow Members to push the frontiers of diversity and inclusion for the legal profession.
Rising Star Award
In 2023, we announced a new Alumni Award—the Rising Star Award—to recognize a recent LCLD Alum who is engaged with the LCLD Alumni community and exemplifies LCLD’s mission of Leadership, Action, and Results. This award will be given to one Alum in the most recent three Fellows or Pathfinder classes.
Past LCLD Alumni Award Winners
We congratulate each of our Rick Palmore and Rising Star Award winners, listed below in reverse chronological order.
2024 WINNERS
- Gerard Gregoire (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Kenneth Perry (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Tina Hu-Rodgers (2021 Fellow) | Rising Star Award
2023 WINNERS
- Bonnie Lau (2013 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Maritza Okata (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Toks Arowojolu (2022 Pathfinder) | Rising Star Award
2022 WINNERS
- Fawaz Bham (2016 Pathfinder and 2021 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Patrick Fang (2020 Pathfinder) | Rick Palmore Award
2021 WINNERS
- Kevin Gooch (2015 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Demetra Liggins (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2020 WINNERS
- Joseph Maron Hanna (2014 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Marilyn McClure-Demers (2014 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2019 WINNERS
- Valeria Chapa Garza (2013 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Zohra Tejani (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2018 WINNERS
- Merisa Heu-Weller (2016 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Kassem Lucas (2011 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2017 WINNERS
- John Cu (2011 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Cassandra Headrick (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2016 WINNERS
- Yvette Gatling (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
- Kamran Khan (2011 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
2015 WINNER
- Bruce Strothers (2012 Fellow) | Rick Palmore Award
For questions, please contact Alyssa Yuen, LCLD Alumni Program Manager